Article carrier formed from a single sheet



June 4, 1968 w. A. KEENE ARTICLE CARRIER FORMED FROM A SINGLE SHEET Filed Jan. 24, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 A T TORME Y5 June 4, 1968 w. A. KEENE 3,386,607

ARTICLE CARRIER FORMED FROM A SINGLE SHEET Filed Jan. 24, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet :3

INVENTOR W. A. KEENE A TTORNE KS June 4, 1968 w. A. KEENE ARTICLE CARRIER FORMED FROM A SINGLE SHEET 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 24, 1966 INTOR W. A. K EEN E A TTORMEYS United States Patent 3,386,607 ARTICLE CARRIER FORMED FROM A SINGLE SHEET William A. Keene, Bartlesville, Olrla., assignor t0 Phillips Petroleum Company, a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 24, 1966, Ser. No. 522,712 18 Claims. (Cl. 220-21) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An article carrier is formed from a blank of a single continuum of thermoforrned material. The completed carrier has a top panel, two vertical fluted interior wall panels, article supporting bottom panels, two fluted vertical exterior wall panels, interior and exterior end wall panels, and a top panel adapted to fold over the contents of the carrier.

This invention relates to a carrier for a plurality of articles. In one aspect, it relates to a carrier for a plurality of articles formed from a single sheet of material. In another aspect, it relates to an article container formed and folded so as to define article compartments. In another aspect, it relates to a container formed by folding a sheet of thermo-formed plastic material. In yet an other aspect, it relates to a bottle carrier formed from a single sheet of material wherein the bottle compartments are formed by flutings on the side wall of the carrier. In still another aspect, it relates to a nestable thermo-formed blank suitable for folding to form an article carrier. In

still another aspect, it relates to an article carrier having i several rows of bottles separated by dividers and having a top, a bottom, dividers, side and end walls formed from a single sheet of thermo-formed plastic material. In another aspect, it relates to an article carrier formed from a single sheet of plastic material, and designed to interlock so as to form a rigid container. In still another aspect, it relates to a container which has side walls, end walls, internal dividers, and a top, all formed from a single sheet of formed stock material. In yet another aspect, it relates to an economical plastic bottle carrier.

Article carriers of plastic material, particularly bottle carriers, have recently appeared on the market, and have proved highly successful. These containers are of lighter weight and more attractive appearance than wooden carriers, and are quieter to handle and. not subject to the denting of metal carriers. Plastic bottle carriers have, therefore, already captured a considerable portion of the total market, and their use will become even more wide spread as their cost is reduced.

It is therefore an object of this invention to produce an attractive, economical plastic article carrier. It is another object of this invention to provide an inexpensive article carrier made from sheet material. It is a further object of this invention to provide a bottle carrier of folded thermoformed material. It is yet another object to produce nestable thermo-formed plastic sheets which may be folded to form article carriers. It is still another object of this invention to provide an article carrier wherein the articles are held in position by the construction of the carrier. It is still a further object of this invention to provide a completely closed article carrier formed from a single sheet of plastic material. Still another object of this invention is to provide a bottle carrier having several rows of bottle compartments, and made by folding a single nestable sheet of thermo-formed plastic material.

These and other objects are attained by the use of my invention, which is that a rigid article carrier having interior and exterior walls defining rows of article compartments, end walls, a bottom, a top, and article posi- Patented June 4, 1968 tioning means is formed from a single sheet of thermoformed stock material.

FIGURE 1 shows one embodiment of my invention partially folded.

FIGURE 2 shows the assembled carrier of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a top view showing the article compartments of the carrier of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is another embodiment of my invention.

FIGURE 5 shows the article compartments of the assembled carrier of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a third embodiment of my invention.

FIGURE 7 is the assembled carrier of FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 8 shows the article compartments of the assembled carrier of FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 9 shows a modified end construction of the carrier of FIGURE 7.

The drawings will be described in terms of a carrier for glass bottles, a currently preferred embodiment.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, it will be seen that when the blank is folded into position, fluted exterior wall panels ill and fiuted interior wall panels 12 will form vertical exterior and interior walls of the carrier. Each fluting of each wall forms a compartment of sufficient size to contain the bottle or other article which the carrier is made to carry. Thus, in the carrier illustrated, there will be four rows of bottle compartments defined by the exterior and interior wall panels.

The bottle-supporting bottom panels 15 are provided with raised protuberances 13 which, in cooperation with the tlutings, hold the bottles firmly in position and prevent the bottles in adjacent rows from striking each other durin g handling of the carrier.

Horizontal top panel 29 is formed by the truncation of the interior wall panel fiutings.

Inner end walls 26 are formed of vertical subpanels of the fluted interior wall panels turned at right angles to the plane of the fluted walls. These subpanels are provided with holes 25 which cooperate when the carrier is assembled to form hand holes for lifting the carrier. The upper edge of holes 25 is rolled upwardly and outwardly as shown at 21 for reasons which will be explained subsequently. One of the subpanels on each end of the carrier is equipped with two vertical parallel slits forming loop 17. This loop is used for interlocking with the outer end panels as will be explained.

The outer end wall panels 14 are formed of extensions of one end of each exterior wall panel 11, and are adapted to fold over and interlock with interior end wall 26. The interlocking is accomplished by inserting tab 1r: through loop 17. Raised boss 18 will tend to prevent tab 16 from being pulled back out of loop 17. Outer end wall panels are provided with openings 19 which, upon assembly of the carrier, will come in registration with the holes 25 of inner end walls 26 to form hand holes. Additional interlocking of the inner and outer end walls is obtained by fitting the upper edge of opening ll9 behind the up wardly and outwardly rolled edge 21 which is provided for that purpose. Details of the end structure of the assembled carrier are best seen in FIGURE 2. If desired, the interlocking portions as described above may be thermally or adhesively bonded for greater strength.

The top of the carrier is formed of panels 22, which are foldable extensions of exterior wall panels Ill. The panels 22 are provided with tabs 23 which may be inserted into slots 24 which are provided in horizontal top panel 2!} for that purpose. In another embodiment, the tabs 23 on one top panel may be made considerably shorter than the opposing tabs, and the opposing tabs may be provided with slots sufficiently long to accommodate the shortened tabs. Thus, the tabs on the two top panels may be interlocked with each other prior to being inserted in slots 24. This arrangement will give additional security against accidental opening of the carrier.

FIGURE 3 shows the positioning of bottles in the carrier, particularly showing how protrusions 13 and the two fluted side walls serve to hold the bottles separate from each other.

FIGURE 4 shows a diiferent embodiment of my invention, wherein the protrusions on the bottom panels are dispensed with, and the flutings on the side wall panels are made sufliciently deep to hold the bottles in their proper position. In this embodiment, the flntings on exterior wall panel 161, and on interior wall panel 162 are sufficiently deep to contain the entire diameter of a bottle. Furthermore, the flutings are oppositely arranged so that the projections of the flutings on the exterior wall panels are in register with the troughs of the flutings on the interior wall panels. When a bottle is in position in a trough, therefore, an opposite projection abuts it and holds it firmly in position as shown in FIGURE 5.

Still another embodiment of my invention is shown in FIGURE 6. In this carrier, the fluted exterior wall panels 261 are provided with a fluted extension 263. This extension is folded back between outer wall 201 and inner wall 202 to form a divider therebetween. This divider serves to separate the interior and exterior rows of bottles from each other. The end of extension 203 forms outer end wall 204. This outer end wall passes through slot 295 provided in the opposite end of exterior wall panel 2%) from the end at which extension 203 originates. Outer end wall 294 folds across the end of the carrier, and the end of end wall 2G4 is bonded to oppositely disposed exterior wall panel 2M as shown in FIGURE 7.

The top view of this embodiment is shown in FIGURE 8. It is seen that the fiutings of the interior and exterior walls, in cooperation with the divider, hold the bottles separated so that they will not strike each other during handling of the carrier.

If desired, fluted extension 263 may be terminated inside the bottle carrier, and a separate end panel be welded or bonded to the carrier as shown in FIGURE 9. This would be particularly desirable where the carrier is formed of one color material, and the end panel, for decorative purposes, is a different color.

The bottle carriers of my invention are thus seen to be lightweight, attractive, durable, and inexpensive. In normal use, sheets of the thermoplastic material would be vacuum formed at a fabricating plant. As the blanks are easily nestable, they would be shipped to the ultimate user in knocked-down condition, and assembled by him at the point of use.

Any thermoplastic material which is suitable for thermoforming may be used to form the carriers of my in vention. Particularly useful are polymers of aliphatic mono-l-olefins having a maximum of 8 carbon atoms per molecule and no branching nearer the double bond than the 4 position, such as ethylene, propylene, butene-l, hexene-l, octene-l, and the like. Both homopolymers and copolymers of these olefins are suitable. Also suitable are other well known thermoplastic materials such as polystyrene, polyamides, and vinyls.

Reasonable variation and modification are possible within the scope of my invention, the essence of which is that a rigid article carrier having interior and exterior walls defining rows of article compartments, end walls, a bottom, a top, and article positioning means is formed from a single sheet of thermo-formed stock material.

I claim:

1. A thermo-formed blank for forming an article carrier having four rows of article compartments and being formed from a single continuum of material comprising (a) two interior fluted walls defining two interior rows of article compartments;

(b) two exterior fluted walls defining two exterior rows of article compartments;

(c) a planar top panel joining said two interior fluted walls;

(d) two planar article supporting bottom panels joining said interior fluted walls with said exterior fluted walls;

(e) inner end wall panels comprising extensions of said interior fluted walls and turned at right angles thereto;

(f) divider wall panels comprising an extension of said exterior wall panels and adapted to be folded back between said interior and said exterior wall panels thus separating said interior and said exterior rows of article compartments;

(g) outer end wall panels comprising extensions of said divider Wall panels adapted for insertion through a slot provided in the opposite end of said exterior wall panel from which said divider wall panel is extended and adapted for folding over said inner wall panels and attachment to the body of said article carrier whereby said article carrier is held rigid;

(h) top panels comprising foldable extensions of said exterior fluted walls and adapted to fold over and cover said article compartments.

2. An article carrier formed of a single continuum of thermo-formed material comprising (a) a horizontal top panel;

(b) two vertical fluted interior wall panels transversely attached to said top panel, the flutings thereof defining inter-ior rows of semi-circular article compartments;

(c) article supporting bottom panels transversely attached to said interior fluted Wall panels;

(d) two vertical fluted exterior wall panels transversely attached to said bottom panels, the flutings thereof defining exterior rows of semi-circular article compartments;

(e) vertical subpanels attached to each end of said interior wall panels and at a right angle thereto, thereby defining inner end walls of said article carrier;

(f) outer end walls comprising extensions of said exterior wall panels and joined thereto along vertical fold lines and adapted to fold over said vertical subpanels;

(g) top panels comprising extensions of said exterior wall panels along a horizontal fold line, and adapted to fold over the top of said article carrier and cover said article compartments.

3. The article carrier of claim 2 wherein said vertical subpanels are provided with two slits, and said outer end panels are provided with tabs adapted to interlock with said slits.

4. The article carrier of claim 2 wherein said horizontal top panel has a transverse slot therein, and said top panels have tabs adapted for insertion into said slot.

5. The article carrier of claim 2 wherein said vertical subpanels and said outer end panels have holes in registration comprising hand holes.

6. The article carrier of claim 5 wherein the holes in said vertical subpanels have an outwardly and upwardly rolled upper edge, and adapted to overlay and hold the upper edge of the hole in said outer end panel against said vertical subpanel.

7. A thermo-formed blank suitable for folding into an article carrier having four parallel rows of article compartments, and formed from a single continuum of material, which comprises (a) two interior fluted walls defining two interior rows of article compartments;

(b) two exterior fluted walls defining two exterior rows of article compartments;

(c) a planar top panel joining said two interior fluted walls;

(d) two planar article supporting bottom panels joining said interior fluted walls with said exterior fluted walls;

(e) inner end wall panels comprising extensions of said interior fluted walls and turned at right angles thereto;

(f) outer end wall panels comprising foldable extensions of said exterior fluted walls adapted to fold over said inner end wall panels; and

(g) top panels comprising foldable extensions of said exterior fluted walls and adapted to fold over and cover said article compartments.

8. The blank of claim 7 wherein said inner end wall panels are provided with two slits, and said outer end Wall panels are provided with tabs adapted for interlocking with said slits.

9. The article carrier of claim 2 wherein the projections and troughs of the flutings of said interior and said exterior wall panels are oppositely disposed so that the projection of each fluting cooperate with the troughs of the opposite fluting to hold the articles within said article compartments.

10. The blank of claim 7 wherein the projections and troughs of the flutings of said interior and said exterior wall panels are oppositely disposed so that the projection of each fluting cooperates with the trough of the opposite fluting to hold the articles within said article compartments.

11. The article carrier of claim 2 wherein said bottom panels have upward protrusions between interior and exterior rows of article compartments cooperating with said flutings to position articles Within said carrier.

12. The blank of claim 7 wherein said bottom panels have inward protrusions between interior and exterior rows of article compartments cooperating with said flutings to position articles within said carrier.

13. An article carrier formed of a single continuum of thermo-formed material comprising (a) a horizontal top panel;

(b) two vertical fluted interior wall panels transversely attached to said top panel, the fiutings thereof defining interior rows of semi-circular article compartments;

(c) article supporting bottom panels transversely attached to said interior fluted wall panels;

(d) two vertical fluted exterior wall panels transversely attached to said bottom panels, the flutings thereof defining exterior rows of semi-circular article compartments;

(e) vertical subpanels attached to each end of said interior wall panels and at a right angle thereto, thereby defining inner end walls of said article carrier;

(1) article row dividers separating interior and exterior rows of articles comprising an extension of one end of each of said exterior wall panels; and

(g) top panels comprising extensions. of said exterior wall panels along a horizontal fold line, and adapted to fold over the top of said article carrier and cover said article compartments.

14. The article carrier of claim 13 wherein the said extensions of the exterior wall panels terminate in an outer end Wall panel adapted for insertion through a slot provided in the opposite end of said exterior wall panel and adapted to fold over and attach to the end of said article carrier whereby said article carrier is held rigid.

15. The article carrier of claim 14 wherein said row dividers have vertical flutings and said. vertical flutings cooperate with the flutings of said exterior wall panels to define circular article compartments.

16. The article carrier of claim 14 wherein the extrernity of each outer end wall panel is bonded to the exterior wall panel opposite the one from which said outer and wall panel originates.

17. The article carrier of claim 2 wherein said outer end walls and said vertical subpanels have means adapted to interengage with each other.

18. The article carrier of claim 7 wherein said outer end walls and said vertical subpanels have means adapted to interengage with each other.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 973,927 10/1910 Eddy 22929 1,906,639 5/1933 Sherman 22929 2,900,119 8/ 1959 Gross 229--29 2,961,123 11/1960 Bydak et al 220102 RAPHAEL H. SCHWARTZ, Primary Examiner. 

